Douglas C-47 Dakota
Technical Information
Background
The aircraft was adapted
from the DC-3 commercial airliner which appeared in 1936,
one of America's most famous
and widely used transports. Few aircraft
are as well known or were so widely used for so long as the C-47 "Dakota", "Skytrain",
"Biscuit Bomber" or "Gooney Bird" and many other affectionate
nicknames. In the Pacific, they were instrumental in supply
and transport to remote islands, mountains and ocean.
The first C-47s were ordered in 1940 and by
the end of WWII, 9,348 were built. They carried personnel and
cargo, and in a combat role, towed troop-carrying gliders and
dropped paratroops.
R4D
C-47A U.S. Navy service, the aircraft went by the designation
of R4D.
R4D1
C-47A in USMC service.
C-49
Designation given to 138 DC-3s taken over from the airlines and used by the Army as personnel transports. Two Wright R-1820 radials.
Allied Air Transport Operations SWPA in WWII - Vol One p 333:
"8 C-49s and 3 C-50s were assigned to the 21st TCS in late August 1942, yet only 10 actually delivered (VH-CDH never being taken up).
C-53 Skytrooper
In late 1941, the first C-53s were delivered to the Army Air
Forces. About 219 of the specialized C-53 Skytrooper paratroop
carrier version were also built. They lacked the double doors
and reinforced floor, and were fitted with metal seats for
28 paratroopers and an attachment point for a combat glider
tow rope. As mentioned, C-53 deliveries preceded deliveries
of the C-47, and it was closer in configuration to the original
DC-3.
Japanese Licence Built DC-3 (Tabby)
Showa/Nakajima L2D, was a Navy land-based twin-engine transport that was a license-built version of Douglas DC-3. that could carry 21-passengers.. The Japanese had signed a licensing agreement with the Douglas company in February 1938 to build domestic versions of the DC-3, which they called the L2D or nicknamed "Tabby." At the time, the Douglas company was unaware that the Japanese navy intended to use them as military transport aircraft.
